Activism is, at best, a well-intentioned hamster wheel

(that time I "smashed" big banks all by myself)

In October 2011, Occupy Wall Street (OWS) encouraged everyone to pull their money from the big banks. You know, to “smash capitalism” and all that.

I already had an account with a small local bank… so that part was covered, so to speak. But I also had a [trigger alert] Chase credit card.

Here’s some of what I wrote at the time about this scenario:

When I went to my local bank to inquire about getting a credit card from them instead, I was informed that if I signed up that particular day, I’d get a free gift.

“What might this gift be?” I asked.

“A blanket,” came the reply.

“I’ll be back in an hour,” I promised — barely able to contain my joy.

I went home, took care of a few things, and prepared for what had become my almost-daily visits to Zuccotti Park during the initial encampment. This time, however, I stopped at my bank, filled out the forms, and was handed a brand-new blanket.

Smiling all the way from Astoria to Wall Street, I carried my gift directly down to the OWS Comfort Station and donated it to be used by those sleeping in the park.

Where do I begin?

Let’s be clear: Switching credit cards did absolutely nothing to challenge capitalism in general or the big banks in particular.

But then again, neither did OWS.

So there’s that.

But here’s a question I never hear asked: How do such meaningless acts add up to impact “activists” on a personal level? Perhaps my own story will shine some light on such self-sabotage.

That Chase credit card I so willingly discarded had a much lower interest rate than the “small bank” card I ended up with. It also gave rewards points, which translated directly into cash. When my finances took a hit a few years later, I had to use my credit card far more often than I wanted.

Result: Way more finance charges, no reward cash, and increased debt. I’m not blaming all this on an OWS stunt, but my empty gesture sure helped make things much worse.

The Powers That Shouldn’t Be™ — in conjunction with woke guilt-tripping — lead to good-hearted people making moves that are self-sabotaging.

Wanna-be “activists” are rendered powerless despite their often sincere desire to help.

Some call it coincidence…

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No matter where you find yourself on the ideological spectrum, it’s time to activate your eyes to see and ears to hear.

Coda: This post is not about finding the “best” bank or credit card.

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P.S.

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